What is the difference between your packages?

The service you receive is the same across all our packages, you simply choose which property websites you would like to advertise on, Silver includes the Zoopla, Primelocaton, Gumtree and our site and a selection of over 400 other sites. Gold includes all of these plus Rightmove (approx 55% of all enquiries come from Rightmove). You simply choose your package, click on the upload button, enter your property details and pay the appropriate advertising fee. Fully Managed includes full advertising on all the portals and management of the property thereafter.

Tenants contact us and we filter them according to your requirements. You will receive an eMail and an SMS message with the details of potential tenants. You simply arrange a convenient time with the tenant, show them around and if they want to take the property, ask them to contact us. We confirm all details with them, and contact you for the “green light”. We charge the incoming tenant a small reference/agency fee and perform a full reference check. You will receive copies of all reference reports so you can make a final decision and if all is ok, we can then raise the contract for you or alternatively you can use your own.

When will my property be on the market?

Your property will normally be listed on our website and Rightmove within 1-2 hours of upload (during normal office hours), and on all of the other property portals within 24 hours (please bear in mind we are not in control of external sites and so cannot guarantee their response times).

What is the letting process?

The process is simple, and begins with you uploading your property details & photographs.

We then check your listing and once approved, it is uploaded on to our website and is sent out to all the property portals, different portals take a different amount of time to show the advert. We’ll send you a link to your property once it goes live.

Tenants see your advertisement and contact us to arrange a viewing.

We contact every enquiry and gather basic information such as who’s moving in, working status, do they claim benefits, pets, move date, etc and filter to your specified criteria. Providing that they are suitable, we forward their details to you by both eMail and SMS.

You meet the prospective tenant and show them the property.

If the tenant likes the property, simply ask them to contact us to make a formal offer to let. We will then put this offer to you. If you are happy to proceed, we will go ahead and perform comprehensive reference checks. Reference checks are paid for by the incoming tenant, you can also opt-out of reference checking for £50+vat if you do your own. A financial commitment by the incoming tenant significantly reduces the number of applicants who withdraw before signing a contract.

Our reference checks include a credit history check, bankruptcy and CCJ check, previous landlord reference and employer reference. We use one of the UK’s leading provider or referencing services to complete these checks. These are normally returned within 3-5 working days.

We will provide you with the results of the tenant’s reference check.

Provided you are happy to proceed, we will send you a bespoke contract.

You then make contact with the tenant to arrange signing of the contract, payment of deposit and rent, and details about their move in day.

Do you offer any additional services?

Yes. We offer a wide range of Landlord services such as EPC’s, Safety Certificates, Professional Photography and Professional Inventories to name but a few. Please see our Landlord Services page for more details.

Do you accompany viewings?

No. We do not offer accompanied viewings. We believe that no one knows your property as well as you, and our experience tells us that when someone who is unfamiliar with a property conducts viewings they are less likely to secure a tenant. Also, by meeting your prospective tenants face to face, you can judge whether or not you are happy to let to them. For more information on do’s and don’ts when conducting a viewing, please see our guide.

How do I value my property?

Why do I need to get references for my tenants?

Your property is possibly the most valuable thing you own, and regaining possession from a tenant who has not paid their rent can be a traumatic, expensive and a time consuming process. We recommend landlords protect themselves as much as possible from “bad tenants” and tenant referencing is a good place to start. Please see our guide on what is included in our reference check and why they are so important.

Can I make changes to my advert?

Yes. Simply send us an email with the changes you would like to make, including any photographs that you would like to be added to your advert and we will take care of everything else. Alternatively, just give us a call during office hours and we’ll make the changes for you there and then.

When will my property be visible to potential tenants?

Your property will be available on all our property portals within 24 hours, Rightmove will usually be live within a few hours (if uploaded during our normal office hours).

How long does an EPC last?

An EPC is a legal requirement for all properties being let, and is valid for ten years. If you do not have one, you can add one to your cart at our landlord services page.

How long does a gas safety (CP12) certificate last?

Twelve months. If you have selected our fully managed service, we will automatically arrange for a Gas Safe engineer to test your appliances, and upon successful inspection, issue you with a new certificate. We can also arrange a Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) for you.

What if my property is already advertised with my local agent?

That’s no problem for us. Although you will need to check the terms and conditions with the other agent as some do not allow the use of multi-agents. Please also bear in mind that the property statistic reports we can produce for you will not be accurate as tenants tend to randomly click on the first property advert they see, irrelevant of who the agent is. This means your tenants are split across the agents and the report will only show tenants who clicked on our advert.

Who checks the tenant has the right to rent?

It is now a legal requirement for landlords to check that all adult occupants have the right to live in England (whether they are on the contract or not). If your property is not going to be managed by ourselves, you must complete the right to rent checks. You can read more about this in our Right to Rent Guide. If your property is to be managed by ourselves, we will complete the right to rent checks for you.

Can I get my property advert to the top of the listings?

The property portals sort properties by the newest first. Unfortunately the property portals don’t allow adverts to be “bumped back to the top”, however they will move your advert to the top of the listings if the price is reduced by 2% or more. The one exception is Gumtree, your Gumtree advert will be automatically bumped to the top of the listing every day.

What is a premium listing and why should i have one?

Landlord’s can make their properties stand out in the property list by adding a premium listing. According to Rightmove statistics, Premium Listings received approximately 26% more views than a standard property advertisement. A premium listing is strongly recommended where there are a large number of properties to let in your area. Premium Listings do not make your property appear at the top of the listings.

What does your reference check include?

Our references include a credit history check (which gives a general credit score, as well as identifying any adverse credit, such as CCJ’s), previous landlord reference and employment reference. The reference report will give your tenants either an “accept” or “fail” recommendation. If there are any issues with your tenant’s references, we will contact you to discuss this, and the options that are open to you. You will be provided with a copy of the reference report.

How can you fully manage my property if you’re not local?

We’re not local, but we always know someone who is! We use trusted and approved local inventory clerks, contractors, engineers etc to complete the elements of our service that require someone to visit your property. In fact, managing your property remotely is what allows us to provide the high quality service that we’ve become renowned for, at a very competitive price across all of England.

A local agent in London will have much higher costs for premises than an agent up north, either way you end up paying for things that aren’t required to rent or manage a property effectively. Instead we concentrate our costs on providing a consistent and quality service no matter where your property is. Managing a property in London costs us exactly the same as managing a property in Yorkshire, why should you pay more?